Hydraulic air-compressor



2 Sheets'f-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

" LMINGr5 HYDRAULG AIR COMPRESSOR.

Patented Oct. 20, 1896.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.-

(No Model.)

J. LIMIN-G.

HYDRAULIC AIR COMPRESSOR.

No. 569,929. Patented Oct. 20', 1896.

Inventor:

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN LIMING, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

HYDRAULIC AIR-COMPRESSOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,929, dated October 20, 1896. 'i l I Application led July 9, 1896. Serial No. 598,623. (No model.)

To all w/'tom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN LIMING, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,have invented certain Improvements in Hydraulic Air-Compressors,of which the following is a specification.

lMy invention relates to that class of aircompressors in which water under pressure flowing into a tank compresses and eXpels the air above it, a water-outlet being opened when the water in the tank reaches a certain height determined by a float, and said wateroutlet being closed when the water has again fallen to a certain level in the tank.

One object of my invention is to provide more acceptable means than those heretofore employed for opening and closing the wateroutlet valve, a further object being to so construct the outlet-valve that the same will be locked in position when closed, but can be readily unlocked by the proper means when it is desired to permit it to open.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of an air-compressor constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is similar View showing the parts in dierent positions from those represented in Fig. 1, and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are views illustrating various modifications of my invention.

The casing 1 of the tank may be of any suitable material, form, and dimensions, that shown in the present instance having a castmetal top and base, with sheet-metal body suitably secured thereto.

Communicating with the lower portion'of the chamber within the casing 1 is the Waterinlet pipe 2, which may communicate with any available source of water supply under pressure, and with the top of the casing` 1 communicates the air-discharge pipe 3, which Ais provided with a suitable check-valve 4, opening outward, a ball-valve 5 onthe inner side of the cap being also employed, by preference, for closing the mouth of the pipe 3 and preventing the access of water thereto in the event of an undue rise of the water in the tank. Also communicating with the upper portion of the chamber within the casing 1 is a pressure-relief and air-inlet pipe 6, to the inner end or mouth of which is adapted a valve 7 of any appropriate character mounted upon an arm 8, hung to a bracket on the pipe.

To a cross-bar 9 inthe upper portion of the tank is hung a lever 10, the depending arm of which has a iioat 11, the upper arm of the lever being adapted to act upon the valvearm 8, and being also bent inward for connection with the upper end of a rod or wire 12, which is coiled at the lower end, as shown at 13, so as to embrace another rod or wire 14, the latter being bent at the upper end l5 and connected at its lower end to a lever 16, hung to a lever 17, which carries a valve 18, adapted to close the inner end or mouth of an outlet-pipe 19, secured to the bottom of the casing The lever 17 has at one extremitya hollow sphere 20, which is lled or partly iilled with water and is tightly closed byvmeans of a screw-cap 21 or other available closure, the other arm of the lever 17 having a weight 22, which is adjustable on a threaded portion of said arm and can be secured in position after adjustment by means of a lock-nut 23.

Then the valve 18 is closed, the lever 16 bears upon a lug 24, projecting from the outlet 19 of the tank, and eifectually locks the lever 17 against upward movement, but when the outer end of the lever 16 is raised it withdraws the said lever from its bearing on the lug 24 and permits the rise of the lever 17, or causes such rise by reason of a pin 25 on the lever 16 coming into contact with the lever 17, and thus preventing further movement of said lever 16 independently of the lever 17, the lifting movement of the rod 14 being thereby transmitted to the lever 17, so as to raise the same and open the valve 18.

Hung to the cross-bar 9 is a lever 26, which has at its outer end a oat 27, the inner end of said lever 26 forming two cams 28 and 29, one above and one below the fulcrum of the lever.

The operation of the device is as follows: When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, water is entering the tank and compressing and forcing out the air above it as it rises in said tank. During this operation the iioat 11 of the lever 10 occupies a position on the right-hand side of the vert-ical line drawn through the fulcrum of said lever 10,

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so that the buoyancy of the float is exerted to retain the lever in the position shown in Fig. 1. As the ioat 27 rises, however, the upper cam 28 of the primary lever 2G acts upon the upper portion of the secondary lever 10 and gradually moves the same forward, thus moving the float 1l tothe left until it is carried to a position on the left-hand side of the vertical line drawn through the fulcrum of the lever 10, whereupon the buoyancy of the float is exerted to instantly move the lever 10 to the position shown in Fig. 2, so as to open the valves 7 and 18. rlhe parts are so adjusted that the opening of the valve 7 slightly precedes the opening of the valve 18, the latter not being opened until there has been preliminary movement of the lockingleverlll. Hence the pressure in the tank is 4relieved before the opening of the valve 18,

and said opening of the valve can be effected with very little effort. As the -water-level falls in the tank the floats 27 and 11 follow, and after the lioat 11 reaches its lowest position, which is directly below the fulcrum of the lever 10, the weight of the float 27 and.

lever 2G is exerted through the lower cam 29 of said lever 2G to continue the movement of the float 11 to the right until the lever 10 again assumes the position shown in Fig. 1. This movement of the lever 10, however, has no effect upon the lever 17, carrying the outlet-valve 18, owing to the sliding joint between the connecting-rods l2 and 14, the weight 22 of the lever 17 preponderating so long as the hollow sphere 2O of said lever is submerged in the water in the tank. As soon as said sphere 2O is partially uncovered by the water in the tank, however, it preponderates in weight and causes a downward movement of the lever 17, the valve 18 iin-ally closing against its seat and the lever 16 swinging into the locking position, as shown in Fig. l.

I am aware that in previous air-compressors of the type to which my invention relates a primary floatlever has been caused to act upon a secondary weighted lever, which, in turn, acts upon the water-outlet valve and upon the pressure-reliei1` and air-inlet valve, but by using a float instead of a weight upon this secondary or intermediate lever l0 l am enabled to effect the operation of the same with much less eort on the part of the primary float-lever 2G than is required when said intermedia-te lever is weighted, for the iloat 11, when wholly submerged, can be moved very easily, as such movement as has to be limparted to it by the primary float-lever is almost in a horizontal line, and hence is not materially resisted by the buoyancy of the iioat, but as soon as the float has passed the vertical line drawn through the fulcrum of the lever l0 its buoyancy is exerted with constanti y-increasin g force to continue the movement and to eiitect the opening of the valves controlled by said lever 10. Y

By the use of the lever 17 carrying the outlet-valve 18, l provide for the almost complete emptying of the tank before the outflow ol water therefrom is cut off, but my invention is not limited to the use of such lever, as the lever 10 might, if desired, be connected directly to an outlet-valve of any appropriate character, such as those used in ordinary tanks, as shown, for instance, in Fig. 3, and, on the other hand, the outlet-valve lever with its supplementarylocking-lever may be used in connection with ordinary Hush-tanks, and instead of having a lever with weights on both arms of the same adapted to alternately prepondcrate the ball 2O might be an ordinary Heat-ball, in which case the weight 22 could be dispensed with, as shown in Fig. 4.

The Iloat lever or arm 2() may, if desired, be secured to or form part of the lever 10, as shown in, Fig. 5, but the independent construction is preferred on account of the wider range of movement which it permits.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent" 1. The combination in a hydraulic air-compressor, of a tank having water-inlet and airoutlet, a valved water-outlet, a primary iloatlever operated by the rise and fall of the water in the tank, and a secondary lever adapted to operate the water-outlet valve and having a depending arm with iioat thereon, said lever being so hung that said float normally occupies a position on one side of a vertical line drawn through the fulcrum of the lever, the primary lever being adapted to act upon the secondary lever so as to carry the lloat of the latter to the opposite side of said vertical line, substantially as specified.

2. The combination in a hydraulic air-compressor, of a tank having water-inlet and airoutlet, a valved water-outlet, a primary {loatlever actuated. by the rise and fall of water in the tank, a secondary lever acted upon by said primary lever, and a connection between said secondary lever and the water-outlet-valve mechanism, said connection having a loose sliding joint whereby the said secondarylever positively controls the opening of the valve, but not the closing of the same, substantially as specified.

'3. The combination of a tank having a water-outlet, a lever having a valve for closing said outlet and adapted to close automatically as the water falls in the tank, a supplementary lever adapted to lock the valve-lever in position when the valve is closed and a valve-opening device acting upon said supplementary locking-lever.

et. The combination of a water-tank having an outlet, a valve adapted to close said outlet, a lever carrying said valve and having on one arm a closed water vessel and on the other arm a weight, a supplementary lever serving to lock said valve-lever in position when the valve is closed, and a valve-opening device acting upon said supplementary lever.

5. The combination of a water-tank having ICO air-outlet and valved Water-outlet, two sets of float-lever mechanism, one for eecting open- 15 ing of the Water-outlet valve and the other for effecting the closing of the same, and a yielding` connection between the two, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 2o name to this specification in the presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

JOHN LIMING. NVitnesses:

CHAS. H. BANNARD, F. E. BEOHTOLD. 

